Alberta Golf CEO Message

I sometimes find it difficult to come up with words that may be insightful, maybe even inspiring to readers of The Alberta Golfer. After all our readers are core golfers who enjoy picking up their personal copy of the magazine or reading the online version from cover to cover (maybe more than once).

We are all the ‘golf guy’ or the ‘golf girl’ in our communities - the ones who are asked about getting into the game, where to learn, where to play, what to buy. We are more than delighted to take the time and share the joys and experiences of the game with others. Prior to the onset of COVID-19 this was a regular occurrence at organized block parties or informal get togethers, at the restaurants and in the pubs.

It seems we now have an abundance of time for golf (to golf?), which has been very healthy for the game. With a twist of irony, we have also had fewer opportunities to share our knowledge, our stories and our passion for golf – key ingredients that fuel the success of our sport.

Instead we have been laser focused on beating the buzzer to get our Saturday morning tee time, marching head down to the first tee before trampling over each other to the digital suggestion boxes (aka texting or emailing the club pro) to share our opinions about what we saw ‘out there’. The four-hour discussions on how to attract more people to the game have now turned into four-way debates before we hit the 3rd tee box about what the club is doing to limit access by the newbies. After all, they are the ones taking ‘our’ times and ‘slowing’ us up.

As our own lives go through stages and transitions - golf is now in its own stage of transition. The pandemic has brought about an influx of new and returning participants and the opportunity is NOW to embrace them – each and every one of them, not turn them away through our actions and / or words.

Newcomers may not have a keen desire to understand as much about the rules and traditions of the game just yet. But they would like someone to share more about the mystical ‘golf etiquette’ they have heard so much about but have yet to experience for themselves. Can the group behind us see where we are? Where does the pull cart go as we approach the first green? It is incumbent upon US with a capital U to own this and share everything we can with the noobs. Before it’s too late.

Golf is always there for us, regardless of the time we have to devote to the game from one year to the next. It is our time to be there for golf.

Prior to joining Alberta Golf in 2016 I had the privilege of working with the PGA of Alberta for many years. During one of our board meetings, a longer than normal discussion ensued about printing golf tips in the local papers and one of our newer board members at the time said ‘We’ve already done that, we need to think of something else to promote the game.’

Derek Gibson, a past president and long-time advisor to the board, and former head professional at the Royal Mayfair for 29 years calmly ended the soft debate by saying ‘The tips might still be a good idea. They are always new to somebody.’

Chief Executive Officer Alberta Golf

Mark Bamford, President –Glendale G&CC Ken Knowles, Vice President – Windermere G&CC Brent Bailey, Treasurer – Windermere G&CC Chris Leach, Secretary – Valley Ridge GC Tiffany Gordon – Carnmoney G&CC Kendra Koss – Earl Grey GC Peter Major – Calgary G&CC Lorraine Moster – Public Players Club Alonzo Strange – Blackhawk GC

Phil Berube – Chief Executive Officer John Deneer – Manager, Competitions & Sport Development Kevin Smith – Director, Communications Stephen Wigington – Director, Membership & Golf Course Services John Burns – Brand Manager, UpSwing Golf Grant Cammidge – Field Manager, Competitions (Edmonton & Area)

#22, 11410 27 Street SE Calgary, AB T2Z 3R6 P: 403.236.4616 Toll Free: 1.888.414.4849 Email: info@albertagolf.org

Suite 105, 16060 - 114 Avenue Edmonton, AB T5M 2Z5 P: 780.424.1111 Email: michele@evhq.ca

THE ALBERTA GOLFER is a print and digital magazine published annually by Alberta Golf in partnership with ev+ Agency. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without written permission from Alberta Golf. Thank you to all the golf clubs which allowed Alberta Golf to conduct provincial championships on their courses during 2021. Please enjoy the 2022 edition of The Alberta Golfer.

It wasn’t simply driving golf balls that got Max Sekulic to this place in life. Driving a combine also had something to do with it.

Indeed, the farm boy from Rycroft knows that the success he’s enjoyed — and is set to enjoy — in his chosen sport isn’t just a product of his sharp wedge work and improving play from the tee-box.

Being a farm boy from the Peace Country is also helping him harvest a bumper future.

“I think I used to be tougher than I am now,” said a chuckling Sekulic about growing “soft” since his days at home on the farm. “But I can still take a lot of things that translate from the farm to golf. Effort doesn’t always equal results, right? You can put a lot of work into a crop, and then all of a sudden, a hailstorm comes through and the crop can be destroyed. On the golf course, you can hit great shots and not necessarily be rewarded for them. Growing up and seeing my parents work as hard as they did, it gives you a good idea of what it takes to accomplish things.”

The golf results of the last year seem to be proof that the work ethic of mom Caroline and dad Nick have certainly rubbed off on Sekulic, now 22 and at school in Pullman, WA. How’s this for a terrific 2021? First place at the Northwest Open Invitational, giving Sekulic his first win in a professional tournament.

Top spot at the Visit Stockton Pacific Golf Invitational, giving the Washington State golf team star his first-ever collegiate victory.

A runner-up finish at another pro event, the Rosauers Open.

A “confidence boost” when qualifying on the school’s home course for the coveted U.S. Amateur. And in what appears to be the seminal celebration of his career, victory at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Golf Championship. “I had my best tournament of the year there,” said Sekulic of his four days of glory at the Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor, ON. “That was a lot of fun, and it certainly opened a lot of doors moving forward. That was definitely the highlight of the year.

“It’s my national championship,” continued Sekulic. “Playing against the best amateur golfers in Canada and winning it is beyond special. You’re the one winner in a 156-man field. To do it at the right time and the right place makes it even more special. Moments like this vindicates years of hard work and planning and also makes your own goals and dreams attainable moving forward.”

So with that, Sekulic is soon turning his attention to the pro game. He’ll graduate from WSU and its fine golf program — to which he transferred in 2019 after two years at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix — and leave the amateur world behind.

He’ll play the RBC Canadian Open — a perk he gets from winning the Canadian Amateur — as a professional and compete on the Mackenzie Tour–PGA Tour Canada under sponsors’ exemptions.

Yes, Sekulic — the 2017 Alberta junior champ and two-time Alberta match-play king — feels like he’s ready for the next step.

By Todd Saelhof

Photo Courtesy by Tyler Costigan/Golf Canada

Max Sekulic at the Golf Canada National Amateur Squad winter training site in Phoenix. “Honestly, I’ve felt that I had to win a big tournament or play really well for years as an amateur to make turning pro seem realistic,” said The Glencoe GCC member. “We play this game a lot, and when there’s 100 competitors and only one winner, you need the vindication that you can win as an amateur to make it count. You have to win a worthy event to make it reasonable in your head that you can play professional golf.

“For me, it happened when I won the Canadian Amateur. Being able to finish strong, especially with the stakes at hand, it gave me the selfassuredness that it was something I could do.”

There wasn’t exactly confidence in his start at the Ambassador. The Albertan needed to hit a “nervy” 20-footer to save par on No. 1 before settling in after three holes and enjoying a “good first-round 68.” Sekulic’s second round was his best, as he posted a six-under 65 and set him up for a run at the title. In Round 3, he admits to struggling a bit, but a “strong finish” saved the day, as he got up and down for birdie on 15, chipped in for birdie on 16 and finished off the binge with another birdie on 18.

“I’ve won a few tournaments by coming from behind,” said Sekulic, pegging the host track as playing to his driver and wedge strength and taking advantage of many riskreward holes. “I felt confident that if I played my game and still managed to play aggressively that anything could happen.”

That it did, as Sekulic used a parbirdie-eagle start in the final round to move him up in the field and eventually into contention. He then rounded out the tournament with a barrage of birdies on 15, 17 and 18 for the two-stroke victory. All the while, he refused to look at the leaderboard.

“At the time, you’re still playing the course and it’s the lowest score that matters,” Sekulic said. “I had it in my head that it didn’t matter what other guys were doing. It only mattered what I had to do in that situation. Luckily, everything went well. Once it was over, I remember it being such a special feeling.” Making it even more memorable was recalling how far he’d come in just months.

The finish to his second year of NCAA golf with the Washington State Cougars didn’t go as planned. He termed his middle-of-the-pack finish at the Pac-12 conference championship “disappointing” and returned to his roots to reset his path to the pro stage.

That, of course, was hard work. “It was a realization that my game needed to be better, and I learned that from playing against guys in the Pac-12 and witnessing what they do day-to-day,” said Sekulic, who’s drawn public praise for his work ethic from personal coach Kent Fukushima and longtime PGA of Canada member/golf coach Randy Robb. “So you apply some of that to yourself.

“I knew to be a pro, I needed a shift in mentality — you need to make the most birdies that you can. In a sense, you need to take more risks as long as they’re appropriate risks. After the Pac-12 championship, I put in about a month of good solid work, and it all came together this summer.

“I’m glad with how it’s turned out.”

Photo Courtesy by Jeff Vogan/Golf Canada Photo Courtesy by Jeff Vogan/Golf Canada

Sekulic's hard work honing his game at Washington State University paid huge dividends.